Coin controlled switch



Jan. 30, 1934. YT N ETAL 1,945,343

COIN CONTROLLED SWITCH Filed May 23, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1

INVENTORS:

BY ELMER LIPE/ BENJAMIN CLAYTON.

B. CLAYTON El AL 1,945,343

COIN CONTROLLED SWITCH Jan. 30, 1934;

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 23, 1932 INVENTORS BENJAMIN CLAYTON COIN CONTROLLED SWITCH Fi1 ed May 25, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet I5 FIG.3.

. INVENTORS: BENJAMIN CLAYTON ELMER L/LPP.

ATTORNEY.

Jam-30, 1934. B. CLAYTON r-:r AL I 1,945,343

COIN CONTROLLEP SWITCH Filed May23, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 F IG. 4.

INVENTORS: BENJAMIN CLAYTON BY ELMER L. 7

Ills..

i 4* 6 9 WM 9 A TTORNE Y Patented Jan. 30, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COIN CONTROLLED SWITCH Benjamin Clayton, Sugarland, Tex., and Elmer L. Lipp, Los Angeles, Calif.; said Lipp assignor to said Clayton This invention relates to improvements in coin controlled switches and more particularly to coin controlled electric time switches.

Among the objects of the invention is to control electric time switches by a plurality of coins of fixed cumulative value to close the operating circuit for a predetermined period of time.

Another object is to utilize the conventional spring-driven clock movement for timing and operating the apparatus.

Another object is to control the winding of the clock spring by the depositing of coins in the apparatus.

Another object is to interpose suitable means to safeguard the clock spring against. overwinding.

Another object is to lock the clock spring against winding until coins of the proper denomination are deposited in the apparatus.

' Another object is to delay the operation of the switch until. the requisite number of coins are deposited and the clock spring fully wound.

Another object is to cause the preceding coins to divert the final 'coin of the series into the actuating mechanism.

Another object is to insure the starting of the clock movement when the final controlling coin is delivered into the apparatus to initiate its cycle of operation.

A further object is to insure the ejection of the controlling coin from the apparatus when the predetermined period of operation expires.

A still further object is to provide precautions against fraudulent use of the apparatus.

Other objects and advantages appear as the description progresses.

The present apparatus is intended In this specification and the accompanying drawings, the invention is disclosed in its preferred form. It is, however, to be understood that it is not limited to this form because it may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit of the invention. as defined in the claims following the description.

In the accompanying four sheets of drawings:

to be at-. tached to automobiles and other machines to Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a coin controlled apparatus constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same showing the final coin detained prior to the complete winding of the clock spring.

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the apparatus showing the mechanism for timing the operation of the switch. f

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical section of the apparatus, taken on the line IV-IV in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing one application of the present apparatus as interposed in the ignition circuit of an automobile.

In detail, the construction illustrated in the drawings, referring more particularly to Figs. 1 and 4, comprises the casing 1,, having the lid 2 hinged thereto. This lid is suitably-latched to the casing to lock the open front thereof against access of unauthorized persons.

The base 3 is mounted within the casing on' the brackets 44 and has its surface suitably grooved to form the coin chute 5 which has its upper end registering with the slot 6 in thetop of the casing. It is proposed to provide suitable coin detectors 'or other precautionary mechanisms at the upper end of the 'coin chute to prevent the effectiveness of spurious coins and other fraudulent operations, wherever occasion requires. In the interest of simplicity, the disclosure is limited to the major essentials of the invention.

The base 3 is preferablydie cast in order to most conveniently form the grooves and depressions provided in its surface. The transparent pane '7 is fixed to the front of the base 3 by the screws 8-8 to form an enclosing cover for the coin chute and other mechanisms provided on the base.

The disk 9 is located immediately below the lower end of the coin chute 5 between the base 3 and the pane 7 and is fixed on the shaft 10 suite ably journaled in the base. The forward end of the shaft 10 extends through thecasing lid 2 and is provided with the knurled knob 12 to permit manual rotation of the shaft 10 and the disk 9.

The apparatus is operated by a conventional spring-driven clock movement having the frame 13 mounted .on the rear side of the base (see also Fig. 3). -The mainspring14 of the movement is adapted to be tensioned by rotation of the manually operated shaft 10. The usual ratchet l5 prevents recoil and unwinding of the main spring. Overwinding and consequent breakage of the main spring is safeguarded against by a friction clutch interposed between the shaft 10 and the main spring. This clutch consists of the cone 16 and the flange 17 maintained in frictional engagement by the spring washer 18. The clutch is arranged to cease to transmit the rotation of the manually operated shaft 10 when the main spring 14 is wound to a predetermined tension.

The coin pocket 19 is provided in the periphery of the disk 9 and is adapted to register with the coin chute 5 to receive the lowermost coin deposited therein when the disk is in the inoperative position shown in Fig. 1. The lower end of the coin chute should flare outward as at 20 to insure against the coins becoming wedged between the sides ,of the chute and the disk 9.

Rotation of the disk 9 revolves the coin in the pocket 19 in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 1 finally dumping the coin when the pocket 19 arrives at the lowest point in its descent. The arcuately arranged guides 21 and 22 are integral with the base 3 and enclose the periphery of the disk 9 to prevent premature displacement of the coin during its partial revolution.

The coins discharged from the coin pocket 19 drop down into the passage 23 formed by the guides 24-25 and come to rest against the stop 26 at the lower end thereof. The mounting and sage 43 (see Fig. 2.)

operation of this stop will be hereinafter described.

The dog 27 is pivoted at 28 and has the nose 29 projecting into the path of the coins dropping into the coin passage 23. The dog is normally maintained in inoperative position by the depending weight 30 which normally'rests against the guide 24. Thedropping of a coin into the passage 23 displaces the nose 29 and tilts the dog to advance the rounded off deflecting shoulder 31 into the coin passage.

The disk 9 is normally prevented from rotating in either direction by the pawl 32' pivoted at 33 and engaging the slot 34 in the periphery of the disk. The spring 35 expanding against the pins 36-36 urges the pawl into engagement with the slot 34. The trip 37 is pivoted at 38 and extends downwardly adjacent the coin pocket 19 into the path of travel of the disk 9. The disk is cut away at 39 to permit the portion 40 of the spring 34 expanding against the trip 3'? to urge the trip into the inoperative position shown in Fig. 1. The cam surface 41 of the trip operatively engages the rounded shoulder 42 of the pawl 82 to release the pawl whenever the trip is displaced.

The angularly disposed coin passage 43 leads laterally from the deflecting shoulder 31 of the dog 27 and is formed by the inclined ends of the guides 22 and 25 (see also Fig. 2). The stop 44 is pivoted at 45 and its lower edge forms a continuation of the inclined guide 22. The push rod 46 is guided by the confining walls 47-48 and engages the slot. 49 provided in the stop. The spring 50 is maintained in position by the pin 51 and expands between the abutment 52 and the push rod 46 to urge the stop 44 upward into operative engagement with the inclined end 53 of the pawl 32. The operating lever 54 is pivoted at 55 and has the curved shoulder 56 adaptedto be impinged upon by the coin in the angularly disposed pas- The lever is also provided with the offset lug 57 extending beyond the margin of the base 3 for a purpose later to be described.

The dielectric roller 58-is mounted at the upp r end of the lever 54 and is adapted to impinge on the spring contactor 59 having the'non-burning contact point 60 in juxtaposition with the similar point 61 on the spring contactor 62. These contactors are mounted on the blocks 63-64, respectively, which are set in the insulating base 62'. These blocks are connected to the binding posts 65-66 by the wires 67-68 (see Fig. 3).

The lead-in wires 69-70 have their terminals secured to the binding posts and lead to and from the power circuit which the present switch controls. It isdesirable that the wires 69-70 be sheathed in a suitable metal conduit to prevent tampering therewith in an attempt to defeat the purpose of the present switch.

The lever 71 is pivoted at 72 in front of the pane '7 and is normally maintained in the inoperative position shown in Fig. 1 by the spring 73 contracting between the lug 74 and the extension 75 integral with the lever. The stop 26, previously mentioned, is mounted in the end of the arm 76 extending from the body of the lever. The lever also has the arm 77 extending downwardly and laterally therefrom and having the bent over end '78. The set screw 79 is threaded in the end 78 and extends into juxtaposition with the projecting lug 5'7 of the lever 54 to cooperate therewith.

The lever 80 is pivoted at 81 on the rear side of the base 3 (see also Fig. 3) and is operated by the pin 82 carried by the lever extension 75 and engaging through the slot 83. The hammer 84 is mounted in the opposite end of the lever 80 and extends through the arcuate slot 85, concentric with the pivot 81, and is adapted to positively eject the controlling coin from its operative position when the lever 80 is operated.

The disk 86 is fixed on the end of the shaft 8'7 and. has the cam 88 adapted to cooperate with the stud 89 on the lever 71. The stud may be filed away as shown at 90 to insure extreme accuracy in the operation of the cam. The cam shaft 87 extends through the journal sleeve 91 and has the gear 92 mounted on its opposite end. The gear 93 is mounted on the hour hand staff 94 of the clock movement and is adapted to drive the gear 92 through the train of pinions 95-96. The ratio between the gears 92-93 will vary for different uses of the apparatus. In the present instance, the gearing is arranged to rotate the cam shaft once every twenty-four hours.

The flexible finger 97 is mounted at the upper end of the operating lever 54 and has the bent end 98 adapted to impinge upon the periphery of the balance wheel 99 of the clock movement. This maintains the balancewheel stationary and pre vents the escapement wheel 100 from performing its normal function.

The apparatus operates substantially as follows: The requisite number of coins w of the proper denomination are first deposited in the coin chute 5, the lowermost coin coming to rest in the coin pocket 19 in the disk 9. The knob 12 is then rotated once for every coin placed in the chute in order to deliver the coins into the coin controlled apparatus.

The manual rotation of the shaft 10 in delivering the coins also winds the clock spring 14 through the interposed friction clutch 16-17.

The apparatus should be so arranged that the spring, by successive operations ofthe shaft 10,

is prevented from accumulating by the slipping of the friction clutch 1617.

The trip 37 is immediately displaced by the periphery of the coin a: as soon as the coin iscarried "forward by the revolving disk 9. The

cam surface 41 of the trip thus moves laterally -a purpose later described.

It is to be noted that the slot 34 is long enough to permit sufiicient movement ofthe coin a: in the pocket 19 to displace the trip 37 and the pawl 32 without the pawl lockingagainst the end of the slot. Examination of Figs. 1 and 2 will show that the cam surface 41 and the shoulder 42 are so arranged that the pawl will be released upon a very slight movement of the dog 37, thus further insuring against the pawl locking in the end of the slot.

As the rotation of the disk 9 continues, the coin 0: passes from contact with the trip 37 but the trip remains in displaced position impinging against the advancing periphery of the disk. The continued rotation of the disk 9 revolves the coin pocket beyond the end of the guide 22 and the coin drops therefrom into the passage 23, momentarily displacing the dog 27 and coming to rest on the stop 26 at the lower end of the passage. The ratchet tooth 101 cut in the periphery of the disk 9, by locking against the trip 37, prevents the disk from being turned backward after discharging the coin.

The operator continues to rotate the disk in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2 until thecoin pocket returns to its initial position. This permits the succeeding coin in the chute 5 to fall into the pocket 19 and the disk is again manually rotated and the operation repeated, discharging the coin into the passage 23 above the first coin.

The coins are thus delivered one by one into the passage 23, stacking up above each other until the penultimate coin stacks up sufficiently high to remain in position, displacing the dog 27. Thus the deflecting shoulder 31 remains ad-' vanced into the coin passage in the path of the final coin. When this coin drops from the pocket 19, it is thus deflected by the shoulder 31 and passes into the angularly disposed passage 43.

As previously observed, the stop 44 is lowered into the passage 43 by the releasing of the pawl 32 and thus temporarily arrests the movement of the final coin or as it descends down the passage 43. When the disk 9 is restored into its initial position, the trip 37 is permitted to assume its inoperative position by the cut away portion 39 as shown in Fig. 1. This permits the pawl 32 and the stop 44 also to return to inoperative position under the tension of the springs 35 and 50 respectively.

The retraction of the stop 44 allows the coin :c to continue its movement until it wedges between the curved shoulder 56 of the lever 54 and the edge of the guide 25, as shown in dotted lines Fig. 2. The delaying of the movement of the coin x insures the disk 9 being restored into inoperative position and the mainspring 14 of the clock movement being fully wound before the cycle of operation of the time switch is initiated.

The wedging of the coin 9: between the guide 25 and the shoulder 56 displaces the lever 54 and swings the dielectric roller 58 outward to close the contacts 60-61 as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. This closes the circuit connected to the wires 69-70 and permits the operation of the machine to which the present apparatus is attached. The flexible finger 97 is also swung outward by the movement of the lever 54 to assume the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, disengaged from the balance wheel 99. The disengaging otthe finger 97 rocks the balance v wheel 99 sufliciently to insure the starting of the escapement movement of the clock.

The operation of the clock slowly rotates the cam shaft through the gear train 9395--96 92. When the predetermined time period of the operation cycle of the apparatus approaches its completion, the cam 88 revolves into contact with the stud 89 and tilts the lever 71 on its pivot 72. This swings the stop 26 outward from be- The movement of the lever 71 also swings the distance between the curved shoulder 56 and the guide 25, permitting the controlling coin a." to drop from its operative position.

The lever is also swung upon its pivot when the lever 71 is operated. This lowers the hammer 84 through the slot 85 and forces the coin from its operative position, should it remain in place between the shoulder 56 and the guide 25. This positively insures the ejection of the controlling coin, even though it be fraudulently rendered adhesive in an attempt to prolong the operation of the time switch.

When the cam 88 revolves past the stud 89, the contraction of the spring 73 restores the lever 71 back into its primary position, as shown in Fig. 1. This permits the resiliency of the spring contactor 59 to restore the lever 54 into inopera- 1 ent is: 1

1. A time switch including switch contacts; coin controlled means for operating said switch contacts; a coin chute; means for delivering a coin from said chute into said coin controlled operating means; resilient means adapted to {be tensioned by the operation of said coin delivery means; and timed means driven by said resilient means forv ejecting said coin after a predetermined interval.

2. A time switch including switch contacts; coin controlled means for operating said switch contacts; a coin chute; manually operated means for delivering a coin from said chute into said coin controlled operating means; resilient means adaptedto be tensioned by the operation of said coin delivery means; means for ejecting said coin; timed means driven by said resilient means for operating said ejecting means; and means for arresting the operation of said timed means subsequent to the ejection of said coin.

3. A time switch including switch contacts; coin controlled means for operating said switch contacts; a coin chute adapted to receive a plurality of coins; means for deflecting one of said coins into said coin controlled operating means; timed means for dumping said coins after a predetermined time period; and a spring for driving said timed means. a

4. A time switch including switch contacts; coin controlled means for operating said switch contacts; a coin chute adapted to receive a plurality of coins; a rotatable disk adapted to deliver the coins one by one from said chute into said coin controlled operating means; resilient means adapted to be tensioned by the rotation of said disk; a clutch interposed between said resilient means and said disk and adapted to cease to transmit the movement of the disk when the resilient means reaches a predetermined tension; and timed means driven by said resilient means for dumping said coins from said coin controlled operating means after a predetermined interval.

5. A time switch comprising switch contacts; a coin controlled lever for operating said switch contacts; means for delivering a coin into a position' cooperating with said lever; means for ejecting the controlling coin after a predetermined interval; a conventional clock movement adapted to actuate said ejecting means; a finger mounted on said lever and adapted to engage the escapement of said clockmovement when the lever is in the inoperative position.

6. A time switch comprising switch contacts; coin controlled means for operating said switch contacts; a manually rotatable disk having a n94as43 when said disk is rotated; resilient means adapted to be tensioned by the rotation of said disk; and timed means driven by said resilient means for ejecting the controlling coin from its operative position after a predetermined interval.

'7. A time switch comprising switch contacts;-

coin controlled means for operating said switch contacts; a manually rotatable disk having a coin pocket therein; a coin chute discharging into 'said coin pocket; a passage leading to said coin controlled operating means and adapted to receive the coin from said pocket when said'disk is rotated; a stop in said passage adapted to temporarily detain said coin; means for retracting said stop when said disk is returned to its initial position; resilient means adapted to be tensioned by the rotation of said disk; and timed means driven by sa d resilient means and adapted to eject the controlling coin from its operative position.

8. A time switch including switch contacts; a lever adapted to be impinged upon by a coin to operate said switch contacts; a member adapted to swing said lever toward said contacts and dump said coin; acoin hammer operated by said member and arranged to contact and insure the displacement of said coin; and timed means for operating said member after a predetermined interval.

BENJAMIN CLAYTON.

ELMER L. LIPP. 

